MSP430F1612 and MSP430F4132 crystal oscillator frequency

- Why is the Launchpad using a 12MHz crystal when the datasheet for MSP430F1612 specifies 8MHz maximum

It is operating outside the specified maximum

- What is the maximum frequency Crystal I can use for MSP430F4132

The specification says up to 8MHz (not 6MHz according to your post) over recommended operating free-air temperature and voltage.

Thank you for answering the first question although it is weird that the EVM was build with a crystal outside spec.

For the second question I am looking at the datasheet SLAS648E -- APRIL 2009 -- REVISED MARCH 2011

 for the MSP430F4132 at page 23 it says that that ceramic resonator Crystal is minimum 1MHz maximum 6MHz not 8MHz.

You think that is an error?

Nick Petrescu said:

Thank you for answering the first question although it is weird that the EVM was build with a crystal outside spec.

That's because TI assumes that most probably you will not use LaunchPad at -40oC or +85 oC temperature. Perhaps at room temperature particular chip is running fine on 12MHz clock and TI knows that.

Nick Petrescu said:

 for the MSP430F4132 at page 23 it says that that ceramic resonator Crystal is minimum 1MHz maximum 6MHz not 8MHz.

You think that is an error?

Everything is fine. Please don't confuse oscillator specification with CPU max frequency, those can differ. - Meaning that if you use crystal then limit is 6MHz but if you use external clock then limit is 8MHz.

Thank you for your answer. Yes, I was referring to the crystal indeed. So 6MHz is maximum then for MSP430F4132, correct?. I did buy an 8MHz crystal in the first place hence the question. I will have to switch to 6MHz as my application will work outside in the cold Canadian weather :)

A ceramic resonator is not a crystal. The former is usually cheaper, less accurate, and only available at lower frequencies.

Actually, the 1612 datasheet doesn’t say anything about crystal frequency. So it is possible that the crystal is 12MHz but the MSP runs on 6MHz MCLK, which would be within the specs. Nobody will know because the LaunchPad FET firmware isn't available as source code. (it could as well be that hand-selected 1612 parts are used which can run at 12MHz)

Jens-Michael Gross said:

Actually, the 1612 datasheet doesn’t say anything about crystal frequency.

Note 2 of "recommended operating conditions" clearly states 8MHz:

the LFXT1 and XT2 oscillators accept a ceramic resonator or crystal up to 8 MHz at VCC ≥ 2.8 V

Well, I didn’t look at the notes in the ‘recommended operating conditions’. These are ‘recommended’. And when I see that the oscillators can accept 8MHz on >2.8V, their working is apparently dependent on VCC, and I guess they will accept higher frequencies on higher voltage.
The electrical specs section of the datasheet doesn’t say anything about maximum clock.